I feel kind of badly that I haven’t been posting about a new woman in history every day like I did last year. I don’t think I’m going to be able to post many detailed articles this time. I’ll probably just have a photo and a short blurb. I’m not up for much more work at the moment I’m already behind with the laundry, litter boxes, dishes, knitting projects, filing our taxes, reading that short story I was supposed to read for Cody, discovering the meaning of life, figuring out what the deal is with Scout’s comment form, and discovering the solution to carbohydrates as self-medication for depression. So. Not much time for this typing crap.

However, I’m still very proud of the articles I wrote last year. And peskymac is trying to write about a woman in history daily as well. So I think that should be a good celebration. At least it’s something right?

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (1843-1864)
alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment New York State Volunteers, 1862-1864

Rosetta Wakeman was born to a farming family in what is now called Afton, New York. She was well-educated, opinionated, and seemingly fearless, particularly considering the narrow roles for women for her time. She was the oldest of nine children and a good farm hand, but by leaving home to earn money to send back to support the family not only with her funds but by providing one less stomach to fill.

After leaving home, she worked for two weeks in the nearest big city, Binghamton, then signed on to work on a coal barge. She seemingly performed so well she was encouraged to join the New York State Volunteers. So on August 30, 1862 she signed up with the 153rd Regiment for the $152 bounty, over a years’ wages for what she would’ve earned in a civilian job, even disguised as a man.

Rosetta became one of four hundred women known to have been Civil War soldiers. Her regiment embarked for Washington, D. C. on Oct. 17, 1862; arrived on October 22, 1862, and was posted to Alexandria for nine months to repel attacks and perform general guard duty. On July 20, 1863, her unit was transferred to Washington to guard against potential draft riots.

In February 1864 her unit was ordered to the field. They joined Major General Nathaniel P. Banks’ ill-fated Red River Campaign in Louisiana. On April 9, 1864 Private Wakeman went into battle at Pleasant Hill. Like many other soldiers, she developed dysentery. She reported to the regimental hospital on May 3, was transferred to the Marine Hospital in New Orleans on May 22, and died June 19, 1864. None of her nurses, attendants, or physicians betrayed her secret.

She is buried in a grave marked Lyon Wakeman in Chalmette National Cemetery, New Orleans. The letters to her family were published in 1994 in a small compilation called An Uncommon Soldier.

In other news I’m completely unsurprised to find out that two of the three people who’ve been burning the churches in Alabama turned out to be idiot asshole fratboy mutherfuckers from Birmingham Southern, a college that I went to for a while. I have a lot of family connections with that school. I watched my parents play in tennis tournaments there when I was a child, two of my childhood babysitters were theater majors there, my mother taught there, my sister and her husband went there. A lot of my friends stayed and graduated after I transferred to Santa Fe. I have a complicated love-hate feeling for the place. But honestly I’m not surprised at all. There is a definite privileged southern white maleness around the place, where “Old South” parties, permanent Bret Easton Ellis style preppieness, social bullies, bitchy comments, and alcohol related deaths and date rapes are still common. In that envirionment they probably really did think they were going to get away with it, that they should get away with it.

Just three deer huntin’, beer drinkin’, SUV drivin’, church torchin’ rednecks. Well shoot if that’s not the main export of my home state I dunno what is. Thanks for reinforcing that stereotype boys!